Skills shortages put a break on IoT

The ‘Great Resignation’ and COVID-19 is affecting companies across all industries. Although the internet of things (IoT) strategies have been introduced throughout the pandemic, companies are still facing a lack of appropriately qualified candidates, which is stopping them from fully integrating these processes.

Inmarsat, a global mobile satellite communications company, revealed in 2018 that the skills gap will be the top barrier in successfully introducing IoT strategies into businesses. Unfortunately, its 2021 report indicates that little progress has been made and companies have yet to make much progress in overcoming these issues.

According to Inmarsat’s study of 450 respondents, just 20% of organizations have the skills needed to successfully integrate IoT into their operations.

50% of all respondents state that they lacked cybersecurity talent in-house, followed by data support (48%) and connectivity technology (47%).

Only 32% of respondents claimed to have all the skills needed at C-Suite or senior leadership levels to integrate fully IoT into their overall business strategies.

How to upskill in IoT

Mike Carter, president of enterprise at Inmarsat said: “It is particularly concerning to note that, amongst those organizations lacking specific skills, almost half are missing security, data science, and connectivity technology skills.”

“To help plug these fundamental IoT skills gaps, it is clear that more businesses need to develop formal IoT strategies, to priorities IoT at the boardroom level and to develop better relationships with IoT service providers.”“To help plug these fundamental IoT skills gaps, it is clear that more businesses need to develop formal IoT strategies, to priorities IoT at the boardroom level and to develop better relationships with IoT service providers.”

Inmarsat’s survey found that those with a formal IoT strategy were also more likely to have board support (47%), compared to only 19% without a strategy.

Carter continued: “The IoT skills gap is a major concern for today’s enterprises. For IoT to be a sustained success, access to the relevant skillsets is needed at all levels.

“Without all these skill sets in place, businesses will continue to struggle to make the best use of the data they gather, to integrate IoT projects into the wider organization and benefit from the transformative role that IoT can play in the global supply chain.“Without all these skill sets in place, businesses will continue to struggle to make the best use of the data they gather, to integrate IoT projects into the wider organization and benefit from the transformative role that IoT can play in the global supply chain.

“If organizations do not have the resources to plug these skills gaps internally, they must look to external partners to provide the necessary skills.”

Although outsourcing would dramatically benefit companies experiencing skill shortages, only 33% of all respondents typically look to partner with IoT services providers to support an end-to-end solution.

Larger organizations (39%) and businesses in North America (41%) and the Middle East (45%) are most likely to partner with IoT service providers.

So, if you are experiencing skill shortages in IoT, start finding new methods for talent acquisition or outsource to partners to get the best results.